Why our Food Choices are so Important for the Health of our Gut.

Did you know that over 90% of all disease may begin in the gut?

That’s right when our gut is not functioning in a balanced state or in symbiosis, then all kinds of havoc can occur. This havoc in the gut soon leads to various health problems. Some of these problems or symptoms may be experienced in the gut and others after time will appear in many other areas of the body which we do not tend to associate as having a connection to the gut. Even Hippocrates said 2000 years ago that “All disease begins in the gut”!

When you hear the word gut, what do you think of? Do you just associate the word gut with your belly region?  Well our digestive system or our gastrointestinal tract actually begins in our mouth and runs like a tube through the body all the way to the other end at the anus. Our digestive tube consists of our mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and rectum.

This tube while running inside the body is actually separate from the body. So while we might think of it as being inside the body it is actually outside of the body! Let me explain; this digestive “tube” has been likened to the hole in a donut. If you were to stretch out that donut hole it would become a 25 foot long tube, through which the food we eat is chewed, swallowed, digested, assimilated, metabolized and excreted.  All of this happens inside the tube, separate from our body!

But of course we know that due to those many actions taking place inside the tube eventually nutrients from the foods we eat are absorbed into our blood stream to make us who we are. Yes, the food we eat becomes us!

You may be familiar with the term “we are what we eat”, but my mentor, Andrea Nakayama says “we are what we can DO with what we eat”.

Due to the many chronic health issues we are faced with right now, more and more research is turning to the importance of the food we eat and how that is affecting our overall health.

The Small Intestine

The most important area of the gut is the small intestine. It is here that most of the action happens when it comes to the final digestion, assimilation, metabolism and excretion of the foods we eat.

The small intestine itself is about 20 feet long and sits tightly coiled up in our lower abdomen beneath the belly button. The entire surface of the small intestine is covered with villi or tiny fingerlike projections that are each responsible for absorbing different nutrients from the foods we eat.

The health of these villi is important in order to be able to receive optimum nutrients from our diet. When they become impaired or “flattened”, or “leaky” then we do not receive these important nutrients for our body. This is what happens when someone has Celiac disease for example.

If you were to open up the small intestine and lay it flat it would cover an area about the size of two tennis courts! So that may give you an idea of how much goes on in this area of our gut!

The Gut Micro Biome

The micro biome is an area that has had a lot of interest and study during the past few years. The “gut” microbiome lives in the gut and is essentially a collection of bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. It has actually been named as another organ in our body. These small microbes are too small for the human eye and can only been seen through a microscope. Our micro biome is everywhere on and in our body and we have 1000X more bacterial genes or DNA than our own human DNA! So that means we are more bacterial in composition than human!

98% of bacteria reside in our gut. Our own gut micro biome is unique to our body, is said to weigh about 4 lbs. and resides within the intestines, that is a lot of bacteria!

Our gut should be like a lush rain forest with plenty of bacterial diversity, where everything lives in harmony and balance. This is a state of symbiosis. They work together in harmony to create a healthy environment that ensures proper digestive function. These good bacteria help to keep the bad bacteria in control as well as controlling things like Candida from getting out of control as well. Too many people today however have dysbiosis in their gut because the gut bacteria have become imbalanced.

We need both good and bad bacteria and should have a ratio of about 85% good bacteria vs 15% bad bacteria. Due to poor eating habits in the western world most people have more bad guys living down there than good guys. When we have more bad bacteria we can experience symptoms like gas, bloating, headaches, brain fog, and fatigue. We can also have depression, anxiety, allergies, sensitivities and skin conditions. Chronic disease is on the rise for people eating the SAD (standard American diet). So our food choices play an important role in the health of our gut.

Our Immune System and Hormones

The gut is said to be the gateway to our health. so if you are dealing with chronic health conditions this needs to be the place to address first.

Science has proven that 70-80% of our immune system resides in our gut. Therefore, this is another reason why keeping our gut, particularly our small intestine healthy is vital for our immune health also. An imbalanced gut micro biome creates an imbalanced immune system which makes us more susceptible to disease.

Our small intestine is also where many of our hormones are produced. Hormones including thyroid, estrogen, melatonin, and serotonin. So if you want a healthy immune system and to balance your hormones, then you need to look at improving and maintaining your gut micro biome!

Inflammation and Leaky Gut

All Chronic Disease stems from inflammation and inflammation begins in our gut. When our gut bacteria get out of balance we no longer have that lush rain forest environment down there and as the bad guys take over we will have a more inflamed gut. 

Chronic inflammation is different from acute inflammation. We want acute inflammation because that is what helps us to heal if we stub our toe, or break something in the body. Acute inflammation is our body’s way of rushing help to the injured area to promote healing.

But Chronic inflammation is not good and we do not want to create this in our body. This is a systemic form of inflammation which will create symptoms anywhere in the body. Most often where our weakest genetic links are.

Remember those villi or tiny fingerlike projections lining the small intestine? Well these become affected when we have inflammation in the gut. The cell wall lining of the gut is only one cell thick and can therefore be easily damaged. When our villi are healthy and functioning well they have tight gap junctions which only allow the smallest particles of food nutrients through those gaps in the cell wall. But when our gut gets inflamed those tight gap junctions loosen up and now larger food particles can get through into the blood stream. Our body does not recognize these larger molecules and does not know what to do with them so they are treated as invaders. Our own body begins to set up an auto immune defense against these foreign molecules or invaders. This will create inflammation and this is the connection to Autoimmune Disease.

When we work to balance our gut then we can reduce inflammation and therefore begin to reverse chronic disease.

What Can We Do to Ensure a Healthy Gut?

The good news is that by eating the right foods we can keep the micro biome in a healthy state of symbiosis and therefore maintain the integrity of our gut wall lining. Our diet and lifestyle choices help to maintain the health of the micro biome, strengthen our gut lining, improve our immunity, increase our vitality, allow us to have a clear mind and clear skin and overall health and well being.

We want to avoid toxins as best as possible in the foods we eat. We are exposed to enough toxins in the air we breath, the water we drink and the homes and environments we live and work in. We should be thinking of real foods, not packaged or processed. Real foods that are preferably organic and local are what our micro biome love to eat and will help to keep it like that lush rain forest.  Real foods will contain necessary macronutrients for the body like fats, protein and carbohydrates.

Real foods will also contain micronutrients that the body requires like vitamins and minerals. Our micro biome loves fiber which we get primarily from eating a plant strong diet that includes nuts and seeds if our body tolerates them. It also loves probiotics which we can get from a good, high quality probiotic capsule or from eating fermented foods like miso, sauerkraut, kimchi, etc.

Something to keep in mind that even though a food is considered “healthy”, it may not be appropriate for your body. We are all unique beings with unique micro biomes. It is important to begin to tune in to what you are eating that is making you YOU. Remember you are not just what you eat, but what your body can do with what you eat.

Is it time for you to consider how to optimize your diet and lifestyle  to encourage a healthy micro biome?

Not sure where to begin? I love helping my clients on their own personal journey of self discovery to find which foods work specifically for their body and which ones they would be best to avoid.

Many people can struggle with making food and lifestyle changes initially and that is where a Health Coach like myself can be there to support and guide them along their journey.

If you would like to discuss your options over a free 30 Minute Nutrition Strategy Session then please reach out! I would be thrilled to help empower you on your own personal health journey.

Your Nourishing Nutritionist,

Lynne Bowsher

Nourishment for body, mind and spirit

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